After 12 years, the United Nations Secretary-General has taken India off a list of countries mentioned in a report on children and armed conflict. This is the first time since 2010 that the country has not been named in the report alongside countries such as Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Lake Chad basin, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
The report on ‘Children and Armed Conflict’ said India has been “removed from the report in 2023” in view of measures taken by the government to “better protect children.”
Officials of the Ministry of Women and Child Development on June 28 said that this became possible due to the introduction of various policies and institutional changes since 2019.
An official statement said that a roadmap for cooperation and collaboration on child protection issues was developed by the Ministry under the guidance and leadership of Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani. Earlier, the Juvenile Justice Act was not implemented, and the juvenile homes there were not functioning properly. Other infrastructure such as Child Welfare Committees, Juvenile Justice Boards, Child Care Homes have since been established, a senior ministry official said.
Many of the measures suggested by the UN have already been carried out or underway. The Ministry has carried out training of security forces in protection of children. The use of pellet guns has already been suspended. And the JJ Act and POCSO Act are being implemented.
